On The Fly: Te'o Keeps His Cool At NFL Combine

PAUL DOYLE

Manti Te'o is no longer a punchline or fodder for late-night comics, but his bizarre "fake girlfriend" tale is sure to follow him to the NFL. And just how the story impacts his football career is still to be determined. On Saturday, the Notre Dame linebacker met the media at the NFL scouting combine and seemed to pass his first test. Te'o was relaxed and joked about the attention he was receiving, saying, "I'm focusing on football and combine." He said he has interviewed with NFL teams and they've asked about the catfishing story. Te'o has clearly been coached, but he was poised and seemed to handle the scrutiny.

•The Big East Conference and ESPN will extend their marriage. On Saturday, the sides confirmed in statements that the network matched NBC's offer to the conference and all that's left is a vote by member presidents. That's expected to come this week and they're sure to approve a deal that will keep the revamped conference on the most powerful and visible sports television stage in the country. The deal is worth $130 million and will run through 2020, according to ESPN.com. Added to a deal with CBS for basketball and member schools figure to yield just under $2 million per year in TV revenue. … Meanwhile, the Atlantic Coast Conference is spreading its brand into the restaurant business. The ACC American Cafe is set to open at Raleigh-Durham International Airport next year, as the conference partners with HMS Host for an upscale restaurant that will offer "farm-to-market dishes" and entrees inspired by home cities of ACC teams, according to the airport's announcement. We're not sure if they're already taking reservations, but we know some folks around here are waiting to hear, "UConn party, your table is now ready."

•Miami, No. 2 in the country, won its first 13 ACC games this season. But on Saturday, the Hurricanes saw their streak end with an 80-65 loss to Wake Forest. It was the best ACC start since Duke went 16-0 in 1998-99, but it ended with a thud as Wake Forest (12-14, 5-9) outplayed Miami from start to finish. …The Yankees are embracing their evil image. According to a Wall Street Journal story, the team went to court to block a private company, Evil Enterprises Inc., from trademarking the phrase "Baseball's Evil Empire." A panel of trademark judges in Washington, D.C., sided with the Yankees, writing that "there is only one Evil Empire in baseball and it is the New York Yankees." And by the way, it was Red Sox president Larry Lucchino who used the term to describe the Yankees after they signed Jose Contreras. Reached by the Journal Friday, Lucchino said, "I give them credit. Their embracing it is clever indeed." ...The Evil Empire is 1-0 after an 8-3 win over the Braves Saturday. Robinson Cano homered and Francisco Cervelli, bidding for the starting catching job, threw out a runner on a stolen base attempt. … In Fort Myers, John Lackey returned from Tommy John surgery with one inning in a 4-3 loss to the Rays. Lackey, who didn't pitch last year, loaded the bases before retiring three in a row. He allowed one run on one hit, one walk and one hit batter.